


Cold and Dark

by inceptiondreamer



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 21:50:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18269954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inceptiondreamer/pseuds/inceptiondreamer
Summary: What do you think would have happened if Jack had said yes to Pitch?





	1. Chapter 1

Jack had almost chucked his memories over the side of that mountaintop, but something had stopped him. He had become too interested in what the teeth held, for they held his true memories. He didn't hear Pitch, for the Nightmare King had appeared rather suddenly. It was a moment before Pitch spoke. "I thought this might happen." Jack turned around, tensing slightly. "Leave me alone." he growled, walking past Pitch.

The Nightmare King sighed and turned to look at Jack as he walked past him. "Jack... I know how you feel." he whispered, and Jack rolled his eyes, turning to face Pitch, teeth clenched. "No, you don't!" he yelled, and he shot ice out of his staff at the Nightmare King, who countered it with black sand. "You don't think I know what it feels like to be cast out, to long... for a family? All those years in the shadows, I thought no one else knows what it feels like... but now I see, I was wrong."

The boy's eyebrows knitted together and he swallowed loudly, looking at Pitch as the Nightmare King began to circle him. "What goes together better than cold and dark? We can make a world where everything, everything is-!" "Pitch Black?" Jack tilted his head. "And Jack Frost, too." Pitch pointed at Jack, nodding his head. Jack cocked his head in interest, taking a step closer to Pitch. He didn't think he would ever let Pitch get to him, but here he was, letting the Nightmare King get into his head and entice him. And the more Jack thought about it, the more he wanted to join up with Pitch.

"Jack, what are you thinking..." Pitch purred. "Do you think you want to work together?" The boy was silent for a few more moments, letting the thought turn over in his head for awhile longer before he gave a curt nod, causing Pitch to smile widely. "Yes. I do." Pitch had a triumphant look on his face and he reached out to pat Jack on the shoulder. "You will not regret this." he said before a few Nightmares suddenly appeared. The King nodded and without another word, the Nightmares lunged at Jack, shrouding him in darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

The Nightmares had shrouded Jack in darkness and when they pulled away, the boy did not look the same as he had before. His hair was now raven black, and his eyes were red. Pitch walked around Jack, examining him with obvious pleasure in his eyes. The playful sparkle that had been in the boys eyes only moments ago was gone now, and it was replaced by darkness.

Pitch would continue to feed Jack darkness until there was not an ounce of the old Jack left. Jack looked at Pitch then and smirked, twirling his staff a few times. "So, what's on the agenda first, bossman?" he inquired, cocking his head and hopping up to sit on the top of his staff. Pitch looked up at Jack with humor in his eyes, hands behind his back as he slowly walked around the staff, the boy watching him the whole time.

"Eager to get started, are we? I think… My first task for you is… to go and test out this new form of yours." Jack nodded, still atop his staff. Jack's memories were now pocketed, and long since forgotten. Jack hopped off of his staff, leaning on it and looking at Pitch.

"Alright, now… Focus on fear, and nothing but fear.." Pitch whispered, and Jack closed his eyes, focusing on nothing but fear, like Pitch had told him. When he sensed some fear, he opened his eyes, nodding at Pitch as if to say he had sensed some fear. "Good." the Nightmare King said, steepling his hands in front of him. "Then go, Jack. Go seek out the fear. You know where to find me when you're done." He nodded at Jack as he spoke, and Jack returned the nod before flying up into the air, staff in hand, towards the place where the fear was coming from.

He flew for quite some time until he came upon Burgess. Jack's eyes widened slightly when he sensed the fear coming from Jamie's house. The boy floated over to Jamie's wondow to find Jamie sitting in his room. Even though Jamie didn't believe in him, so therefore couldn't see him, he had felt a connection with him before Pitch had turned him into what he was now. Jack had to shake his head to clear his mind of any emotion he might feel towards Jamie now. Those were no longer needed, and he gripped his staff, opening the window just enough for him to slide inside.

Jamie did not look up from whatever he was doing. But after a few moments, for whatever reason, the younger boy did look up, sensing something was not right. His eyes moved around the room, and he felt a chill run down his spine, sensing someone was watching him. "Who's… Who's there?" Jamie said, voice trembling. Jack figured he might as well try to speak and see where that got him.

Jack stepped from the shadows, and was surprised when Jamie acknowledged him. He clutched his staff when Jamie spoke. "Wha-… Who are you?" Jamie whispered. How does one go about explaining that they're Jack Frost go darkside? "Let's just say I'm Jack Frost with a darkside. And honestly, I don't mind being on the bad guys side as much as I thought I would…" Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders. Jamie looked at him with confusion and hurt on his face.

"Wait… I don't understand." There was a bit of fear in his eyes now, for he had always thought of Jack Frost as one of the good guys, but it turned out he wasn't. "I thought… you were supposed to be a good guy…" Jack shrugged, rocking back and forth, still leaning on his staff. Jamie's eyebrows knit together. "What can I say, kid? Being a bad guy is just a lot more fun. So I decided to work with them." Jamie's bottom lip trembled and he clenched his fists. "I want you to get out…" he growled. "Get out of my room right now."

Tears were running forming in Jamie's eyes but Jack showed no emotion, simply shrugged his shoulders. Sure, good Jack would jump on the chance to comfort Jamie, but things were different now, for this Jack merely turned and disappeared as silently as he had appeared, leaving Jamie with tears running down his face and a heavy heart.


	3. Chapter 3

After Jack had left Jamie's, he had done some thinking. He had been thinking about how he had been so against this whole thing a couple of hours ago, but here he was getting ready to go report to Pitch as if he had been doing this forever. It felt almost normal, even though there was a part of him that wanted so desperately to go back to how he was before this happened.

But the darkness inside him kept driving him forward towards Pitch's lair, more out of interest in what Pitch had in store for him than anything else. His internal struggles were confusing him more and more with each passing minute, and Jack stopped mid-flight. He floated down to the ground and plopped down on a boulder nearby.

Jack sighed softly; sure, he had talked big back at Jamie's house, but now he wasn't so sure that all he had said was true. He was starting to doubt himself and this situation just a little, and Pitch would be able to tell, surely, and would consume him with more darkness, to ensure that the winter sprite would not leave so easily.

Jack ran a hand through his hair in frustration, and his thoughts turned suddenly to the other Guardians. What would they think when they saw him like this? Disappointed, surely. Betrayed, most definitely. Would they try to cast him out again when he confronted them again, or would they try to fight him, that he wasn't sure. That's when Jack decided he would go see the Guardians before he went back to Pitch.

And who knows, if the Guardians decided to cast him out again, than that would help make his decision easier.


	4. Chapter 4

So here he was, off to find North and the others. Perhaps they had gone back to the North Pole to recuperate after the incident with Easter... Jack sighed at the thought as he floated along, but shook his head, knowing there was nothing he could do to fix it now. But the boy noticed that even as he floated along, doubting himself and this deal, there was sudden surge of darkness within him. Pitch must have sensed that he was doubting himself and had poked at him with darkness from inside his lair. Jack hadn't even thought that it was possible for Pitch to do that if he wasn't right beside him.

Now the darkness felt strong once again, and Jack raced on towards North's workshop at the Pole, gripping his staff as he went, a soft grin on his face now. He had gone from being afraid of facing the Guardians in his current state to anything but. Who would have thought that simple touch of darkness could do that? Jack sped up as he saw North's workship coming up in the distance. Before he knew it, he was landing in front of the door and pushing it open, looking around as he walked inside and closed the door behind him.

He could hear voices in the distance and he walked towards the voices until he came upon the room with the globe and he saw North, Tooth, and Bunny all there... The aftereffects of Easter had turned Bunny small, Jack noticed. They obviously had not heard Jack come in, so the winter sprite cleared his throat, causing the three Guardians to turn their heads in unison to look at him. When they saw him, Bunny's ears flattened against his head, Tooth gasped and covered her mouth, and North's eyebrows knitted together. Their reactions were to be expected of course, for Jack looked different, given the circumstances and all.

"Jack, what happened to you?" Tooth asked, hurt in her voice. "What do you think happened?" Bunny growled. "From the looks of it, he joined up with Pitch." The little nose twitched a couple of times. North was most the disappointed of the three, though. Jack was like a son to him, and to see him like this was... Well, it hurt to see him like this, to say the least, and it made North's heart heavy that what they had been trying to defeat had not just taken Sandy, but Jack too.

"Jack, how could you?" North whispered. Jack leaned against his staff, crossing one foot over the other and shrugging his shoulders. "You guys shunned me away. I had nowhere else to go, and I was alone." Jack shifted slightly. "But... Pitch?" North said softly. "Why would you think Pitch is good idea to team up with?" North's voice sounded tired. "Like I said, you guys turned me away. I felt like I really had no other choice." Tooth stepped forward slowly, eyes saddened. "But you didn't hnave to make the wrong choice, Jack... We would have forgiven you in time."

The boy gritted his teeth and took a step back. "Yeah, okay, whatever." Bunny hopped up on North's shoulder. "Listen, mate... I know I've always been tough on you, but seein' ya like this makes me feel bad for screamin' at you. If ya should be mad at anyon', it should be me... Don't bring Tooth and North into this... So please, ya don't hafta do this..." Jack turned his head and sighed. "Yes, I do..."

He turned his back on them. "Listen, I have to go back to Pitch now. No matter waht you say, this is the path I've chosen now. I'm sorry that you guys don't like it, but I don't care." And before anyone could say anything else or try to convince him otherwise, he was gone in a flurry of snow.


	5. Chapter 5

Before Jack knew it, hew was back in the woods where the entrance to Pitch's lair was. He looked down into the dark hole for a moment before taking a deep breath and jumping, and he soon felt solid ground beneath his feeth. As he started walking farther into the lair, Pitch's voice suddenly echoed inside his head. "It's about time you came back. What took you so long, hm?" His tall form melted out of the wall next to Jack, but the boy just stood there. He wasn't scared of the tall figure like he used to be. "Well, after I went to seek out the location of the fear, I... Went to see the Guardians."

At this news, Pitch chuckled. "Did you now? And how did that go? They must have been disappointed to see you like this." The Nightmare King gestured to Jack. Jack sighed softly and nodded. "Yeah, they were. It was to be expected, so I wasn't all that surprised, really." he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Yes, well, it's a shame they can't accept you either way it seems, is it?" Pitch drawled, hands behind his back. "I don't see why it matters if they accept me now, though." Jack said.

Either way it didn't seem like the Guardians would really ever accept him fully. Either way, Jack didn't win. So that's why it had seemed so easy to join Pitch, because it didn't matter what Jack did - he always seemed to end up doing the wrong thing. "But I don't really need them anyway, and they don't need me, I just know it..." he murmured, and that made Pitch smirk, because he could feel the doubt inside of Jack. "That's the spirit, Jack." he whispered, and Jack's eyes flickered up to Pitch's face, the hint of a smile on his face.

"I have an idea..." Jack said suddenly. "I think... While the Guardians are as weak as they are... We should attack them..." The winter spirit didn't know why he had suddenly had this unquenchable urge to fight them, but he did. And maybe it would help the Guardians realize they had been wrong to shun Jack go so easily, what it had done to him. Pitch nodded and smirked. "That's... a splendid idea." The Nightmare King chuckled darkly, steepling his hands in front of his face. "But Jack, understand that you are still new to this, so you don't need to just barge in there and attack without a plan."

Jack gave a cold laugh. "Oh please." He rolled his eyes. "I can handle them, with or without a plan." Pitch frowned deeply at this. "And I say you cannot be rash." he growled. The boy was far too cocky for his own good, if Pitch was being honest with himself. "But as long as I'm with you, I don't think I have to worry about getting killed at the very least." Pitch nodded slowly. "Yes, but you still have to think before you act, Jack." Jack shrugged, leaning on his staff. "Fine, , Boss Man." He waved his had dismissively.

"So, come up with a plan of attack, Jack." Pitch tilted his head at Jack as he watched the wheels turn in the boy's head. "Alright then." Jack said simply. "What do you have in mind, Jack?" Pitch asked after a few minutes and Jack smirked. "I figure I'm stronger now that I've joined your side, so my powers must be stronger." He shrugged. "And I shall simply round up my Nightmares and surround the Guardians, and you can use your powers to freeze them or something like that."

"Well... I was planning to do that anyway." Jack grumbled and Pitch laughed softly. "We shall attack tomorrow night, how does that sound?" Pitch asked and Jack leaned against his staff, shrugging. "Fine by me." he replied. "Good." Pitch said softly. "Tomorrow night it is then."


	6. Chapter 6

Pitch and Jack had spent the entire day preparing for the fight taht night, going over strategies and what not. As the time drew near for them to go fight the Guardians, Jack had noticed how truly ready he was for this. "Alright." Pitch said softly. "I believe it is time to go." He smirked at Jack, who returned the smirk. "Let's go then." They had planned to attack the Guardians without warning, get them off guard. After they had left the tunnels, Pitch called his Nightmares and told them to stay nearby in the shadows intil they were needed, and the Nightmares snorted and disappeared then.

Pitch chuckled and he and Jack began flying towards the worshop of North. Earlier when they had looked at Pitch's globe, there had been only one believer left, so that meant the Guardians were at their weakest now, and that definitely pleased Pitch. He had one of the Guardians on his side, and the other three Guardians were not believed in anymore. Also, the balance between fear and not was off since he had gotten rid of Sandy, so there had been more fear in the world, thus making Pitch stronger. And since Jack had joined his side, that had given him that much more power.

"What are you thinking about?" Jack asked as they continued to make their way towards North's workship. "Oh, nothing really." Pitch said, chuckling softly. They were soon coming upon the workship, and Jack and Pitch both looked at each other and smirked, and the Nightmares whinnied distantly from wherever they were hiding. "Are you ready?" Pitch purred as they now stood in front of the door, and Jack nodded softly, clutching his staff tightly in one hand and flying up to the roof to wait a few minutes for Pitch to enter and throw the Guardians off guard a little.

Pitch disappeared and then materalized on the Globe, and the other three Guardians looked up, obviously astonished. "Well, well. It's nice to see you all like this. You look awful." the Nightmare King taunted as Nightmares appeared along with Jack. The winter sprite smirked as he came up beside the Guardians, riding a Nightmare. "Jack..." Tooth said sadly, and North sighed, Bunny's ears flat against his head. "You don't wanna do this, mate..." Bunny said. "I don't? But I think I do." Jack said. "You rejected me. Now you have to pay the price." He shrugged.

"Enough with the chitchat." Pitch said, rolling his eyes. "It's time to drive Santa and his lackeys out of the North Pole." Black sand swirled around the glove, and the Nightmares riled up, causing the Guardians to tense up. "You want to drive us out? It won't be that easy, I can assure you... The farthest we go is outside." North said angrily. Pitch chuckled and nodded. "That will do for now, I suppose." he drawled. Tooth fluttered away and North limped out the door with Bunny on his shoulder. Pitch floated down from the globe, and just as planned, when he got outside, there were Nightmare surrounding the place. The Guardians looked distraught, and Jack was smiling with glee, as was Pitch.

"You looked surprised. Were you not expecting this?" Jack shouted, motioning to the Nightmares. "We were just hoping maybe you'd changed your mind about what side you were on." Tooth said, a sad look in her eyes. Jack smirked and rolled his eyes. "Just give it up already. I'm not coming back to your side." he said, and the Guardians looked at each other. "I'm frightfully bored now." Pitch drawled and Jack chuckled as a few of the Nightmares snorted. "Fine, you heard the King." North growled. "You better watch who you're challening." Pitch taunted. "Watch your mouth, mate. North and Tooth may be weak, but I can still pack a punch." Bunny said, holding up his little paws as if he was going to take Pitch and Jack on by himself.

"Oh, how cute, honestly thinking you can take us on." Jack said, rolling his eyes. "Let's just move this along, eh?" Pitrch said, and he nodded his head to signal the Nightmares, and they ran forward. The Guardians, to the best of their abilities, tried to fight the Nightmares. Jack jumped off of the one he was riding, floating above the scene, observing for a moment before lunging forward. North looked up just in time to avoid Jack. "Jack, think about what you are doing." he yelled. Jack wasn't listening, and a Nightmare almost got North, but he managed to block somehow, even though he was weak. Jack looked at Tooth and Bunny, who were also maning to block Nightmares to the best of their abilities.

Pitch made his way towards North, scythe in hand and North glared up at him, ready to fight back. When Pitch swung his scythe, North, arms shaking, held up his swords to block the attack, and Pitch grunted softly. Jack was fighting Tooth, and the Fairy was doing a fairly good job of countering Jack's attack even without being able to fly at the moment. Bunny was fighting Nightmares, kicking at them with his hind legs. As Tooth and Jack were fighting, Tooth was trying to get him to come back to the good side.

"Please, Jack, you have to understand that we need you right now, more than ever." Jack swqung his staff and Tooth dodged it. "The children need you, too." Jack growled. "Stop it, just stop!" Because Jack had not given in to the darkness entirely, it was difficult for him to want to keep holding on to it, and the good part of him wanted out. "I can't change, and I can't go back to who I was. Why can't you see that?" He swung his staff again, and Tooth barely out out of the way. "But you can change, Jack! There is always time to redeem yourself. Think of Jamie! Think of us! We all need you. Jamie is the only believer left and he needs you."

Jack's eyes flickered momentarily between red and green. Pitch noticed something was up and started to float towards Tooth and Jack, but then there was a burst of light as Jack let all the darkness go, and all the light back in. The Nightmare King flinched away from the light, screaming "No!" as he put his hands over his face. The Guardians smiled as the Jack they had come to love and accept was now standing before them again, smiling. "Hey, didja guys miss me?"

"Jack!" Tooth said happily, and North and Bunny merely smiled. Jack turned to an irritated and frightened Pitch and smirked. "Looks like you're not as strong as you thought, seeing as you couldn't keep a good hold on me, eh?" Pitch's eyes widened slightly as he gritted his teeth. Jack swung his staff at Pitch, who countered it with his scythe, knocking the staff out of the way. "Get out of here, Pitch." Jack warned. "I will get you back someday, Frost, mark my words." Pitch growled after a moment of silence, and he snapped his fingers and he and his Nightmares vanished.


End file.
